WHAT IN THE WOLRD IS branding?
In articles, you might see headlines like “How to have a successful branding campaign” or something like that. The term “Branding” has been used widely, however, it is a concept that often confuses people, even those who have studied marketing. This can be a simple guide for everyone to have a better insight about the idea of branding and how it works.
Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand
Branding is a process of giving meaning and purpose to any company, organisation, business, etc. Imagine a company as an individual, there are tons of them outside and the only way to differentiate is through its voice, visual, characteristic, and vision. Therefore, to deliver the right meaning for a brand, marketers must plan and design carefully in order to give consumers the experience that helps them recognize the right messages and identity of the brand as well as reasons to choose their products over other rivals.
The target audience in branding strategy is not only consumers, but also stakeholders, employees, and competitors. With the consumer, branding is a short-cut to encourage people to make decisions faster. Because when a brand continues launching products and services that are aligned with brand promise, people tend to trust and loyal with their favourite brand. For stakeholders and employees, the importance of branding lies at how it will grow the brand reputation. If a brand is increasingly popular, it can mean that the revenue also increases so that stakeholders will benefit from this. Meanwhile, from employees’ perspective, a successful branding will consolidate the working attitude and build stronger bonds, stronger community.
The Process of Branding
Define core values
It’s a stage for brands to ask themselves questions like: Who we are? What is our purpose? How innovative are we? or Why are our products more relevant to customers' needs? By answering these questions, brands will have a clearer vision for brand existence and long-term objectives.
Do your research
This is what they call the least enjoyable stage since it requires different kinds of research, such as market research, customer insights, competitor analysis, etc. However, it contributes a significant weight to the success of branding strategy, because to know oneself is true progress.
Build brand identity
This is the stage where people tend to think is the definition of branding. It’s similar to the outlook and personalities of an individual. Each brand will have their own traits that are able to decide how easy or difficult for customers to remember them. Here are some works need to be done:
Here are some works need to be done to build your brand identity:
- Brand Name: The concise version of your brand purpose.
- Tone of Voice: The right tone for the right audience
- Visual Direction: Tailor the best suit for your brand
- Slogan: The transformative promise to customers
- Offline and Online Experience: Pave the way to customers’ minds and hearts.
WHY EVERYONE MENTIONS BRANDING THESE DAYS?
We are in the era where having a business is increasingly easy and the competition within the market is tougher. No brand wants to be fuzzy, hence, branding is more and more important in marketing plans. Many big companies such as Burberry, Facebook (currently Meta), and Energizer came up with brilliant branding strategies that help to convey brand purpose accurately and more relevant to new customer generations.
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